BACKGROUND: Recent years have witnessed a continual decline of medicinal plant availability as well as a decline in the numbers of tribal traditional healers and their medicinal knowledge in Bangladesh. Yet these medicinal plants used for treatment of various ailments by tribal traditional healers can be of considerable interest to modern science in their potential for discovery of lead compounds, which can lead to better drugs. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of the present study was to conduct an ethnomedicinal survey among the traditional healers of the Harbang clan (Tripura tribe) of Mirsharai to gain information on medicinal plants used to treat various ailments with the further objective of evaluating the efficacy of these medicinal plants when compared with known phytochemicals and modern-research-based pharmacologic activity studies on these plants. METHODS: Semistructured interviews and guided field-walk methods were used to gather information on medicinal plants used by the Tripura traditional healers. Along with plants, information was also collected on plant parts used, formulations, and dosages. Information on phytochemicals as well as pharmacologic activity studies on these plants (if any) was obtained from several data bases. SETTING: The survey was conducted among the traditional healers of the Harbang clan (Tripura tribe) residing in Mirsharai, Chittagong district, Bangladesh. RESULTS: The traditional healers of the Tripura tribal community of Mirsharai use 64 plant species distributed into 38 families for treatment of various ailments. CONCLUSIONS: Information on phytochemicals and pharmacologic activity studies conducted on a number of the plants (used by Tripura tribal healers) by modern scientific methods validated the traditional use of a number of plants and suggested that they can form a good source of newer drugs. The survey further highlighted the importance of gathering such ethnomedicinal information for effective conservation of tribal medicinal knowledge and medicinally important plant species.
BACKGROUND: Recent years have witnessed a continual decline of medicinal plant availability as well as a decline in the numbers of tribal traditional healers and their medicinal knowledge in Bangladesh. Yet these medicinal plants used for treatment of various ailments by tribal traditional healers can be of considerable interest to modern science in their potential for discovery of lead compounds, which can lead to better drugs. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of the present study was to conduct an ethnomedicinal survey among the traditional healers of the Harbang clan (Tripura tribe) of Mirsharai to gain information on medicinal plants used to treat various ailments with the further objective of evaluating the efficacy of these medicinal plants when compared with known phytochemicals and modern-research-based pharmacologic activity studies on these plants. METHODS: Semistructured interviews and guided field-walk methods were used to gather information on medicinal plants used by the Tripura traditional healers. Along with plants, information was also collected on plant parts used, formulations, and dosages. Information on phytochemicals as well as pharmacologic activity studies on these plants (if any) was obtained from several data bases. SETTING: The survey was conducted among the traditional healers of the Harbang clan (Tripura tribe) residing in Mirsharai, Chittagong district, Bangladesh. RESULTS: The traditional healers of the Tripura tribal community of Mirsharai use 64 plant species distributed into 38 families for treatment of various ailments. CONCLUSIONS: Information on phytochemicals and pharmacologic activity studies conducted on a number of the plants (used by Tripura tribal healers) by modern scientific methods validated the traditional use of a number of plants and suggested that they can form a good source of newer drugs. The survey further highlighted the importance of gathering such ethnomedicinal information for effective conservation of tribal medicinal knowledge and medicinally important plant species.
Authors: Mohammed Rahmatullah; Rownak Jahan; F M Safiul Azam; S Hossan; M A H Mollik; Taufiq Rahman Journal: Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med Date: 2011-07-03
Authors: Fernanda Yvelize Ramos de Araújo; Adriano José Maia Chaves Filho; Adriana Mary Nunes; Gersilene Valente de Oliveira; Patrícia Xavier Lima Gomes; Germana Silva Vasconcelos; Jaqueline Carletti; Manoel Odorico de Moraes; Maria Elisabete de Moraes; Silvânia Maria Mendes Vasconcelos; Francisca Cléa Florenço de Sousa; David Freitas de Lucena; Danielle S Macedo Journal: Metab Brain Dis Date: 2021-09-07 Impact factor: 3.584